Failing
by Ookami Z
Summary: Chie loves Aoi, but what will happen when duty calls and she is forced to make decisions that could destroy her relationship with Aoi? Total Chie/Aoi love with other couples. Set in Mai-Otome universe, before Mai-Otome Zwei.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters here. Sunrise Does. **

**Failing**

**1.**

As the sun was setting, a small breeze blew through Garderobe. Chie walked calmly as her mind wandered into recent happenings. '_What would of happen if I had lost her?'_ she thought.

It had been a couple of weeks after the war that Nagi had caused and Aoi was back into working for Queen Mashiro. She was still a little weak from the accident, but she had insisted on going back to work. _'Stubborn as always' _thought Chie.

'_The accident…it almost took my Aoi away…'_. The mere though of it made Chie shudder. She had felt miserable knowing that she was not able to protect her beloved Aoi from that mob that threw her over the cliff. She had once promised Aoi she would always be there for her, yet she had failed.

Chie had been in love with Aoi since the day she met her. Every time she remembered that day, a grin spread in her face.

===Flashback===

"Meeeaaawww"

A large cat sped past Chie as she came out of a Trias meeting, making her stumble and fall backwards.

"Ouch…" she said while trying to get up until she was hit again, but this time by a girl.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Please, please, please forgive me." plead the girl as she tried to get up from atop a blushing Chie.

"Oh, no. Its fine, I…Its fine…"stuttered Chie, which surprised her, since she never stuttered, specially not with a girl. She was Garderobe's resident flirt after all, well, of course after Shizuru-sama.

"No I'm really sorry, I didn't see you. I was just chasing Mikoto and…did you by any chance see him?" said Aoi as she helped the other girl up.

"Hmmm…you mean the fat cat the ran into me first?" Chie said with a smirk.

"Yes…that would be him" said Aoi with embarrassment.

"He went that way…if you want, I can help you find him. Well as long as next time it's only you that bumps into me, not him." teased Chie with a smirk.

Aoi instantly blushed at the comment, "That would be great. Thanks."

Chie smiled and they started looking for Mikoto. Chie couldn't believe it. Although on the outside she remained the usual teaser and flirt, she was bouncing on the inside just from walking with her. _'She is sweet…'_ she thought. She had seen the girl before from afar, and she knew she was Queen Mashiro's personal maid.

"So…what's your name?" asked Chie while looking at her. _'She's so beautiful…' _she thought.

"Aoi Senoh at your service" replied Aoi with a smile. "and yours?"

"Chie Hallard…at your service too," she said with a blush spreading through her face when she looked up to her. Aoi's smile was so beautiful. She felt captivated by it. She had never before felt like that with anybody. _'Is this what they call love? The butterflies in your stomach? The feeling of longing?' _she thought. _'Nah, I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself…'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Aoi ran towards the garden when she saw Mikoto stuck in a tree.

"Oh no…Mikoto, how did you get up there?" Inquired Aoi while the cat just meowed.

"Hmmm…well that's not good," said Chie as she walked up besides Aoi and saw Mikoto in the tree.

"How are we going to get him?" asked Aoi.

"Don't worry, you are in the presence of Chie Hallard, member of the Trias, I will bring him to you safe and sound," said Chie with a smile. She inspected the situation thoroughly. _'Well, I can't use my robe…and if I climb I could get injured, not to mention Miss Maria yelling at me…Oh well, I told her I would get him out, then I will.'_

Chie walked towards the tree and began climbing it. _'come on, come on, come on, please Miss Maria don't come to the Garden' _prayed Chie while she tried to get Mikoto.

"Be careful!" said Aoi nervously. She didn't want Chie getting harmed after all…

As soon as Chie was close to Mikoto, he jumped towards her and landed on her head. The weight caught Chie by surprise and knocked her off balance making her fall down with the cat.

"Chie!" screamed Aoi as she ran towards Chie. "Oh my God, are you okay?" asked Aoi while trying to see if she was hurt.

"Ahhh….that didn't go as planned. I'm fine, the nano-machines should start working soon…I hope," replied Chie while getting up with Aoi's help.

"Chie Hallard, that was quite entertaining, too bad it's not allowed" came a voice from behind Chie as she walked.

'_Miss Maria…damn it. I am so dead…' _thought Chie as she spun around in surprise to find Miss Maria.

"Miss Maria…I didn't know you were here…" said Chie nervously as she unlatched herself from Aoi, whom was helping her walk since she had hurt her leg in the fall and the nano-machines were slowly working.

"Of course you didn't Hallard, now if you don't mind, I will take you to the nursery and then to my office, understood?"

"Yes Miss Maria…" said Chie. She gave Aoi and apologetic look and said to her "sorry, I guess our date is cut short, but I had fun."

Aoi blushed again at the teasing comment. "No, thank you Chie-san. I hope you get well soon."

Chie smiled and said "Chie is fine, no need for honorifics, and I might get better if you come visit me once in a while…"

Aoi smiled and said " I definitely will, Chie."

Miss Maria then took Chie to the nurse's office and to her office. She was then scolded for "Ruthless behavior."

===Flashback Ends===

'_I remember that day clearly'_ Chie thought while she sat at a bench on the garden looking at the very same tree where she once fell down trying to help Aoi. _'My Aoi'_ she thought.

She remembered Aoi had indeed gone to visit her sometimes and later on Chie had taken Aoi on dates and pretty soon they had started dating. Chie remembered the day she had asked Aoi to be her girlfriend.

===Flashback===

"Well, well, well, somebody is in love" teased Nao as she sat on the sofa across from Chie. They had just finished a Trias meeting and they were all relaxing. Nao had seen Chie's behavior lately, and it screamed "I'm in Love!!!" to anybody who knew her.

"Shut up Juliet, you are just hating on Chie cause you can't get anybody for yourself" said Shiho.

"Don't call me Juliet!" said Nao as she threw a pencil to Shiho.

"Aww…you will pay for that…Juliet" said Shiho as she wrote Nao's name again in her 'maki maki' book.

Chie just looked on to the scene before her and commented with a smirk "well, you two love birds will have to excuse me, but I have a date to get ready. If you guys are planning on doing anything when I'm gone…well, just make sure you lock the door okay? After all, we don't need any innocent girls walking in on you two and get scarred for life."

Chie left and heard the girl's unison scream of "CHIE!!!" as she closed the door.

Chie was really nervous about the date she had with Aoi. She had decided to ask her to be her girlfriend, and although she was pretty sure Aoi was also interested in her, there was always that doubt that made her nervous.

Chie got ready and waited for her outside the Palace. She was nervous and then she saw her. Aoi was beautiful. She wore a flowered dress that fitted her figure perfectly. Chie was astounded and was left without words.

"I'm taking your expression as a compliment. Thank You, you look nice too," said Aoi with a smile.

'_She is amazing,' _thought Chie and quickly said. "Oh, sorry, I…You…Amazing." stuttered Chie. She blushed and took Aoi's hand as they started walking towards the park. Chie had prepared a picnic for them and she hoped to make it romantic. They arrived at the park and Chie sat the picnic up. They ate and then relaxed.

'_What if she says no? Maybe she'll think I'm taking it too fast? What if she doesn't lov-" _Chie's thoughts were cut short when Aoi spoke up and said "Chie, this was amazing, thank you." Chie smiled and all her doubts were erased when she looked into Aoi's eyes. There was nothing there that was not love.

"Aoi, there was something I've been meaning to ask you…" said Chie while taking Aoi's hand. "I hope I'm not moving too fast or anything but I wanted to know if-" she was cut short when Aoi kissed her. The kiss was filled with passion and love. Chie was surprised at first because she couldn't believe what was happening. She had never kissed lips sweeter than hers. Aoi's lips were like a sweet honey she couldn't get enough of.

She whimpered when Aoi pulled back to look her deep in the eyes. "Yes," she said with a smile, "I will be your girlfriend, only if you are mine."

Chie smiled. "Only yours. Always and Forever. I promise to protect you and be with you always."

Aoi smiled and leaned in to kiss her girlfriend again.

===Flashback Ends===

'_I promised I would protect her, but I failed.' _thought Chie. She couldn't stand the risk of losing Aoi.

'_That damn letter. Why did it come so soon? Why can't I have some more time?'_. Chie looked at the letter she held in her hands. It was addressed to 'Major Chie Hallard'. She couldn't believe that so much time had passed. _'I don't want to lose her…' _She opened the letter and reread it for what seem the thousandth time, and once more, it brought tears to her eyes.

**A/N:**

**Thank you so much for taking the time to read my first ever FanFic! I love this couple and I don't think they get enough fan love :(**** so I will give them some :)**

**Please review it if you want me to continue. Aren't you curious as to what's inside the letter? And why she could lose Aoi? Please review! Arigato!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here (except Chie's family: Takashi, Sakuria, Aya, and Hiroshi). Sunrise Does. **

**Failing**

**2.**

_Major Chie Hallard,_

_As your General in command, it is a pleasure for me to inform you that it is time for you to take your position as Colonel of the Aries Forces. I am aware that you are currently finishing your training at Garderobe, which should end in a week if I am correct. You will need to report to the Force's headquarters in Aries where you will be put into your new position and will be sent off to your new headquarters in Gukka._

_As your father, I rejoice in knowing that you will soon be joining me in service. I also would like to inform you that since you have yet to choose a good suitor for you, I have chosen a young man here that is a Colonel and will be perfect for you. Look forward to meeting him soon._

_Again, it is a pleasure for me to give you this news and I am sure you will carry out your duties with honor as always. I look forward to seeing you._

_Sincerely,_

_General Takashi Hallard_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Chie had read the letter many times already, and every time she did, a mixture of emotions overcame her. She had once thought that she would wait for this letter with joy, and she had for some time, well except the 'suitor' part. She couldn't believe her father was setting her up with some random guy, that was usually her mother's job.

Since she had been a young girl, Chie had been raised knowing that one day she would join the Aries forces like the rest of her family. She had grown up anticipating the day she would join the Forces alongside her brother and sister.

Although she was already a Major in the Forces, she had left for training in Garderobe and continued there until becoming the first Otome in her family. Her father had been proud of her success in the school, while her mother showed great discontent. Her mother, Sakuria Hallard, had wanted at least one of her daughters to enjoy a normal youth that did not involve military training, since she believe it was 'toughening' up her daughters and no man would want them. Her oldest daughter, Aya, had just recently married a fellow member of the Force, which made her mother very happy. Of course, the same could not be said for Chie, so her mother started sending men to court Chie, but of course, they were all turned down.

A few months after Chie started dating Aoi, she decided to tell her parents, but it did not go as she would've hoped.

===Flashback===

The sun was setting on the horizon as Chie walked hand-in-hand with Aoi. They had been dating a few months now and everything had been going great.

"Aoi…does your father know about us?" Chie asked suddenly. She had been thinking about her relationship and how she wanted her parents to know and be happy for her, since every time they wrote they had asked if she had 'found herself a good man yet'. It irritated Chie to the greatest extents knowing that her parents still expected her to marry a man after all the men she had turned down from them.

"I have talked to him about us, and he seems to understand that I'm in love with a woman. A very hot woman actually." said Aoi while giving Chie's hand a small squeeze.

Chie blushed instantly. _'How can she still make me blush after all this time?'_ questioned Chie in her mind while pulling Aoi towards her to give her a light kiss on her lips. Chie didn't mind PDA much.

"And your parents? Do they know?' asked Aoi as they kept walking back to the palace from their date.

"Well…not exactly. I have tried to 'hint around' to them that I am not interested in men, but they don't seem to understand, and I'm a little scared to be too blunt about it…" confessed Chie while looking at the floor. She didn't dare look at Aoi, since she knew there would be disappointment in her beautiful eyes.

"Oh, are you telling me the great Chie Hallard is scared of her parents?" teased Aoi. "Well don't worry, you don't have to tell them until you're ready. No pressure okay?" she continued while grabbing Chie's chin to make her face her and planting a kiss on her lips.

'_What did I ever do to deserve her? I have an angel and I'm ashamed of her? No.' _thought Chie and then she proclaimed happily, "No, I think its time that they know I'm love with the greatest girl in all of Earl!"

"You're too sweet. I love you." Aoi whispered softly to Chie while leaning in for a good night's kiss, since they had already reached the Palace. "I love you too Aoi." said Chie. _'I love you too much to be ashamed of you. I love you too much.'_

-----------------------

'_Should I write to them? Or should I call them? Maybe I should just visit them…No that would be too dramatic, and writing takes too long, maybe I should just call them.'_ pondered Chie while she sat at the desk in her room. She saw her clock _'well, its not too late…'_

Chie dialed the number on her cell phone nervously. _'No, I shouldn't be nervous, this is for my relationship with Aoi. My Aoi.' _She was so lost in thought that she didn't register when somebody picked up the phone.

"Hello….Hello…Hellooo!" someone said from the other line.

Chie quickly answered. "Hello? Oh sorry, Hey Hiroshi, are mom and dad home?" Chie inquired from her older brother.

"Hey Chie! So long since you last called. I'm feeling a little abandoned here…" complained Hiroshi while pretending to cry over the phone.

"Oh shut up Hiro, I called you last week remember? Now, can I please talk to my parents?" asked Chie irritated.

"Okay okay, no need to get aggressive. Gosh. Mom isn't home, but dad is, so here you go." answered Hiroshi and gave the phone to his father.

"Chie?" asked her father over the phone as if to make sure it was really her.

"Otou-sama! I've missed you!" said Chie over the phone. She loved and respected her father greatly.

"Chie-chan, my baby girl, how are you doing? Is something wrong?" asked her father with worry in his tone since it was rare that she would call him at this hour.

"No Otou-sama, everything is fine, its just that there was something I wanted to talk to you about, and hopefully you can talk to mom about it also…" said Chie hoping to get her father to support her.

"You know that for my baby girl, anything." her father said, which made Chie full with joy, _'He seems to love me enough to accept me. Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought…"_

"Well, I don't really know how to be subtle about this, and I think I would just confuse you if I am, so I will be direct and straight to the point…Otou-sama, I am in love with a girl." Chie said with a courage she didn't know she had. She felt relieved to tell her father, as if she had been relieved of a great weight that had been dragging her down from keeping a secret from her Otou-sama, her hero.

There was a long silence until she heard laughter coming from her father. "Otou-sama…" whispered Chie onto the phone. She didn't know how to interpret her father's laughter.

"Oh Chie-chan, for a second I thought you were serious. Wow girl, you shouldn't joke with your old man like that." said her father with laughter.

Chie felt like somebody had stabbed her with a fork and had taken her heart out. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she heard her father laugh at her expense. Her Otou-sama was laughing at her…

"Otou-sama…it's not a joke…I am in love with a girl. Her name is Aoi and she is amaz-" tried to say between tears until she was cut off by her father.

"Listen Chie, this is just a phase that I hear every girl goes through, specially those that go to Garderobe. In a few months you will join me in the ranks and probably be sent to the new headquarters that are being built in Gukka. So just enjoy your little affair if you want, I don't care, but just remembered that you will marry a man and either way, you can't take anybody to Gukka that is not your family or spouse, so that girl would not be able to travel with you either way." said her father with bitterness.

"Otou-sama…I could marry her…"pled Chie while crying onto the phone.

"Silence! I want to hear no more of it understand? Your mother has arrived, you will not tell anybody else about this understand? This must stay between us, I don't want anybody knowing about such an embarrassing thing." spat her father with a rage that Chie had never before seen and he hung up.

Her Otou-sama was disappointed in her. She had disappointed him greatly…

'_Otou-sama…'_ Chie cried for the rest of the night in her room.

===Flashback Ends===

Chie would be graduating in a week since she already had all the credits necessary to graduate. She hadn't exactly thought about what would happen after Garderobe thoroughly, but she was sure she wanted to stay with Aoi.

She had planned on joining the local forces so that she could stay close to Windbloom, since she knew Aoi would not leave Queen Mashiro. She though there was no point in Aoi staying here, since Queen Mashiro already had a Meister Otome, Arika, so it wasn't like she needed Aoi to take care of her, but it seemed like both Aoi and Mashiro thought otherwise.

One time she had talked to Aoi about moving with her to Aries when she graduated, but Aoi had declined her offer, saying that she needed to stay with Queen Mashiro to make sure she was okay. Chie had taken some offense to see Aoi chose Mashiro over her, but she though Aoi was right, since she knew Aoi loved Mashiro greatly, like a mother.

Chie kept thinking about what she would do, not that she had too many options. She had to go to Aries and follow her fathers orders, because if she didn't, she would be hunted down until she did. There was no way she could hide in Windbloom, but there had to be another way. Maybe she could convince Aoi…_'If she loves me enough…'_ she thought,

-----------------------

Chie walked briskly through the palace halls towards the garden. There she found Queen Mashiro playing with Arika and Mikoto. She scanned the garden for Aoi, and found her sitting on a bench reading a book while keeping an eye on the girls. She had not seen Chie yet.

"Chie-san!" screamed Arika as she ran over to Chie when she spotted her. Mashiro walked over along with Aoi.

"Hello ladies. Enjoy the precious weather I see, huh'?" asked Chie while smiling at the girls. When she caught Aoi's eyes, she gave her a wink.

"You want to play with us Chie-san? We were trying to make Mikoto do tricks, but he is a lazy cat." Arika said while grabbing a meowing Mikoto. He seemed quite insulted by her comment.

"As fun as that sounds, I'm actually here to request that Queen Mashiro lend me a few minutes with Aoi, if that's not a problem of course." Chie said with a grin.

"Of course not Chie-san, please, go ahead. Arika and I will just go inside, and you guys can talk." Said Mashiro while grabbing Arika and pulling her inside.

"Bye Chie-san!" said Arika with a wave. "Bye." replied Chie and then she turned to Aoi.

"Well, would you like to sit?" inquired Chie as she walked towards a bench pulling Aoi with her.

"Is everything okay Chie? You don't usually come here…"asked Aoi while looking at Chie with worry.

"Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about. I know we've talked a little about this before, but something has happened…and I need to know what you think about it…" explained Chie while taking out the letter.

"Something? Chie what is wrong? You are really worrying me…" Aoi said while grabbing Chie's free hand and looking at the letter she held in the other. "What is that?"

"Aoi, read this, I will explain it when you're done, but I think you will understand the situation when you read it…"

Aoi grabbed the letter and started reading.

**A/N:**

**Thank you so much everybody!!! I really appreciate all your comments and reviews. I'm glad you liked the first chapter. Hopefully you liked this one too. I will try to update everyday If I can or at least every other day, since I have nothing else to do, and I love this story. I promise that I will put all my effort into this great story. I would specially like to thank my first three reviewers ever! They are angelronin, Anime Geek49 & ice princess1927. Thank you so much! I dedicate this chapter to you guys!**

_Next Chapter: Tough decisions have to be made. Does Aoi love Chie enough?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. **

**Failing**

**3.**

"Chie…" Aoi spoke softly when she finished reading the letter. Her eyes were glazed and before she could say anything else, Chie grabbed Aoi's hands in her own.

"Aoi, please, come with me to Aries. I will talk to my father and once he sees that our love is true, I know he will accept it. We can get married and you can move with me to Gukka." Chie begged.

"Chie…I…I…" Aoi spoke softly while tears escaped her eyes.

"Please Aoi. I love you, but I have to go. If you come with me we can stay together forever. I want you in my life. Please Aoi…" Chie spoke with a pleading tone while tears streamed down her own eyes.

Aoi spoke softly, almost a whisper, and if Chie hadn't been as close as she was, she would've missed it. "I can't Chie…I'm sorry, I can't."

"What? What do you mean you can't? Don't you love me?" asked Chie with anger stirring inside her.

"I love you Chie, I love you with all my heart, but I can't leave Windbloom, I can't leave the palace, I can't leave Queen Mashiro…" Aoi spoke between tears as she tried to hold on to Chie, but Chie stood up and spoke with anger and fury.

"Why?! Why are you choosing her over me? I thought you loved me…Why can't you just let her go? She has Arika! She doesn't need you…I do…" Chie finished and collapsed to the ground crying. Aoi went to her and held her.

"I'm sorry Chie, don't make me choose between you and her. I can't leave her, she is just a kid, she needs me. All my life is here, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but why can't you stay with me?" Aoi asked while holding on to Chie.

At the sound of this, Chie broke from Aoi and stood up while pushing her away. "Why must I chose between my duty, my family, and you when you choose Mashiro over me? You obviously don't love me enough to leave Mashiro for me! I thought you loved me…I guess I was wrong…" Chie said with tears and rage. She turned and walked out of the garden leaving Aoi on the ground.

'_Chie…I'm sorry….'_ Aoi thought while she was left with pain heavy in her heart.

-----------------------

It had been almost a week since the day Chie talked to Aoi and she had not heard any more from her. Chie had been in pain and to her, it seemed Aoi didn't even care enough to see if she was alright, since she had not received any calls or anything from her.

"So, tomorrow's graduation night, do you have any plans Chie?" Nao asked. They were getting ready for their last Trias meeting, and they were waiting for Shiho.

"No." Chie deadpanned with an irritated tone.

"Geez. Chie, what's wrong with you? All of this week you've been like…like not Chie. What's wrong?" Nao inquired. After all, it was true, Chie had been acting distant and had been in a bad mood to say the least for the whole week after she talked to Aoi. What added to her depression was that Aoi had not even tried talking to her.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Where the hell is Shiho? I have things to do and she thinks she can just waste my time like this." Chie complained in an irritated tone.

"Calm down Chie, she'll be here soon, it's just that Miss Maria had some documents that we had to review and she went to pick them up. So anyways, some of the girls and me are going partying tomorrow night. Want to join us?" Nao asked. She really wanted Chie to come, she thought it would help her mood. She wasn't sure what caused it, but she could bet it had to do with Aoi.

"No thank you. I have to finish packing and have to go to bed early since I'm waking up early the next morning to catch the boat that's taking me to Aries." Chie said with a bored expression. She actually liked Nao, no matter how crazy she was, but at the moment, Chie wanted nobody to talk to her. She had a headache from all the crying and she felt horrible.

"Aries?! What the hell Chie? Why are you leaving and how come you didn't tell me about this?" Nao said with surprise. She couldn't believe Chie was leaving her. She actually liked Chie, a lot. Some would say she harbored a small crush on her and she looked up to Chie. Of course, not that she would ever admit it or ever say it.

"I'm joining the Aries Forces full time. I'm going to be stationed at Gukka soon." Chie said as if it was nothing.

"Gukka?! What the hell?! That's in the other side of the damn world!" Nao exclaimed. Then Nao asked something that she should've not done. "What about Aoi? You taking her with you I assume, right?"

At this, Chie glared at the girl for asking her such a stupid question, or at least it was stupid in her opinion. "No, she is not going with me okay? Now leave me alone Nao, I am not in the mood to deal with you," she said with anger and bitterness.

Nao was taken back by her response but before she could say anything else, Shiho saved her by coming in and starting the meeting.

-----------------------

'_Chie…' _Aoi thought as she contemplated the setting sun through the window when Arika walked in. "Hey Aoi-san, have you seen Mashiro? I can't find her"

"Mashiro? She's not in her room? Hmmm….I thought I had left her in there, since she seemed tired after the meeting, well let's go find her." Aoi walked with Arika as the looked for Mashiro. They walked through the foreign home with ease, since they had spent almost a week there, they were accustomed to it and the places Mashiro liked to hide in when playing with Arika. Although they were both more mature, they still liked to play like kids with each other. Mashiro would not admit, but she was madly in love with her Otome, so she did anything to spend time with her, even if she had to play hide and seek with the girl.

"Aoi, I know this is not really my business, but you seem distracted lately. Is everything alright?" Arika asked with concern. Although she usually acted immature and childish, she could be very mature and understanding if the need aroused. She had noticed Aoi seemed depressed and distracted lately. It did not interfere with her duties, but it was enough to show through the façade she tried to pull.

Aoi looked at Arika with a small smile. "I'm okay, its just that…."

"You miss Chie-san right? I mean, we've been gone from Windbloom for almost a week in this trip and you miss seeing her right? I mean, I would be the same if I didn't see Mashiro for so long. But don't worry, you'll see her tomorrow." Arika explained with ease like she understood everything clearly. Before Aoi could say anything else, Arika ran towards one of the closets and opened it to find Mashiro laughing at being found. "Took you long enough," she said while grabbing onto Arika to get up.

"Mashiro, were returning tomorrow right?" asked Arika while keeping a hold to Mashiro's hands although she was already up.

"Yes, the meetings are over, and I'm glad because I am so tired of all this new policies and crap. They say it is to 'ensure world peace' but with all this, I'm sure somebody will be discontent pretty soon and start some other trouble." Mashiro said with an exasperated tone.

"If that happens, don't worry, I'll be here to protect you," Arika said while pulling Mashiro into an embrace that was very welcomed.

"I know." Mashiro said while enjoying the sweet embrace.

Aoi looked at the young couple and realized that they were right, they had each other, maybe Chie was right and Mashiro didn't need her anymore…She needed to talk to Chie and ask her to forgive her. She loved Chie and she needed her. Mashiro had Arika, and she knew they would protect each other. She had to see Chie and tell her how much she loved her.

-----------------------

"We're here! Finally!" Arika said while leaping out of the limousine and running inside the palace. Aoi watched the always energetic Arika while waiting for Mashiro to exit the car. As they walked back inside, Arika jumped from behind Mashiro and grabbed her hand to lead them to the baths, "Let's go Mashiro, I really want to take a hot bath, all this week as been so stressful," Arika said while pulling her.

"Mashiro-Ojou-sama, is it fine if I leave for a little bit, there is something I need to do at Garderobe," asked Aoi and before Mashiro could speak, Arika said, "Hurry Aoi! And tell Chie-san that I say hi!"

Aoi smiled and looked at Mashiro who just nodded with a smile while walking away with Arika.

'_I'm coming Chie, I'm coming for you.'_ Aoi quickly went to Garderobe and went to Chie's room.

She tried to knock but found no answer, and when she tried to open the door, she found that it was closed. Aoi walked around the school but couldn't find her.

As Aoi walked outside, she saw Nao walking and she ran towards her.

"Nao-sama, excuse me," Nao spun around at the sound of Aoi's voice, _'Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, why am I the one that's always left to deal with this kind of stuff?' _Nao thought while her head throbbed from the hangover she was carrying from the night before.

"Aoi-san, wha…what are you doing here?" she asked while thinking what to tell the girl.

"Nao-sama, I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where Chie is?" Aoi asked hoping that perhaps Chie had just gone out or something.

"Chie? Well, how can I say this…" Nao said while she thought of the best way to tell her, but she couldn't really think of anything, "I'm sorry Aoi, but Chie's gone, she left early this morning for Aries…I'm sorry."

'_I'm too late…Chie….I'm too late.' _tears streamed down as Aoi felt a pain greater than anything she had ever felt before. _'I'm too late.'_

**A/N:**

**Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! It makes me so happy to know people are liking my story. I know this chapter was kinda sad and depressing, but I promise you, it will get better. I just wanted to show some realism to their story because in Mai-HiME they are just comic relief (and not officially a couple) and in Mai-Otome, we don't get a good insight about them, so I just want to give them realism to their story, because I'm sure as we all know, every relationship has its ups and downs. Please keep reviewing and tell me what you think of this story. I'm also thinking that once I'm done with this one, I might write a Arika/Mashiro story, what do you guys think? **

_Next Chapter: Chie left thinking that Aoi doesn't love her and meets her 'suitor' set up by her father. Will she give him a chance?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. (I do own Takashi Hallard and Rei Wong.)**

**A/N:Quick note, I made this story rated M because of some little language here and there. So don't worry, nothing too bad here ;)  
**

**Failing**

**4.**

"Welcome Major Hallard," Chie was greeted by a saluting cadet as she entered the headquarters. She had just arrived to the Aries Forces headquarters and was ready for her assignment. Although her heart was heavy with pain, she tried to put up a façade, since she was about to face her otou-sama.

'_Aoi, I loved you so much, but you abandoned me…'_ thought Chie as she followed the cadet. She had decided to leave early that day from Garderobe since she didn't want to spend any more time there. She hoped distance would help heal her heart.

"Major Hallard, the General wishes to speak to you prior the briefing," said the cadet as she led Chie into a large office. The cadet knocked on the door and a voice was heard that approved entrance.

"General Hallard, Colonel Hallard is here," at the sound of the words a large men sitting on the desk spun around to face Chie.

"Otou-sama…" Chie said gently while looking at her father.

"Chie-chan! Come here my girl!" said her father as he walked over to embrace his daughter. Takashi Hallard was a large man with short hair that was the same color as Chie's. His eyes, unlike Chie's , were a light blue color that softened the intensity of his stare

"I missed you otou-sama," Chie said to her father as she hugged her father back. Although she still resented the fact that he had laughed when she tried to come out to him, she loved her father too much to put that between them. _'Not that it matters anymore. Aoi is gone…'_

"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow Chie-chan, and then I got a call that you had arrived this morning. It makes me so happy to finally be able to see you. Now tell me, how was Garderobe? I heard you became the leader of the Trias," Takashi said as he pulled his daughter into another embrace, "I'm so proud of you Chie-chan."

"Thank you otou-sama, if only mother would be as proud…" Chie said to her father with disappointment, "She didn't even want me in Garderobe in the first place."

"Oh never mind you mother. She just didn't want you there because she thought you would be like some of the other Otomes. She had heard about Principal Kruger and Archmeister Shizuru Viola, and she didn't want you to 'turn out' like them," explained Takashi, "But don't worry, I never told her about your little slip of mind you had a few months ago, and I'm sure you are well over that, correct?"

'_Slip of mind?…Was it really that? Just a moment of foolishness? Perhaps father is right…'_Chie thought, and then said "I rather not talk about that father, I'm actually a little tired from the trip, do you mind if we do the briefing tomorrow?"

"Of course Chie-chan, you may go rest in the quarters that have been prepared for you, but first, I would like you to meet somebody." Takashi said and spoke onto the intercom, "Please summon Colonel Wong to my office." A voice was heard replying "_Yes Sir."_

Chie looked at her father with confusion. She feared it was the suitor, but she hoped otherwise.

As the door opened, Chie turned to see the man entering. He was tall and had a very close resemblance to Sergay Wong, except unlike Sergay's blonde hair, he had black hair.

"Chie-chan, I would like you to meet Colonel Rei Wong, he is Sergay Wong's cousin, you know him right?" asked Takashi.

"Sergay? Yea, I know him…" Chie answered. She looked at the man standing in front of her. Rei grabbed Chie's hand and kissed it as he bowed down to greet her.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hallard. I have heard many great things about you." Rei said charmingly.

Chie looked at the man holding her hand and was about to snatch it away until she remembered that her father was in the room. She couldn't be rude in front of him after all.

Rei gently released her hand and flashed Chie a gallant smile.

'_He's not bad looking, but Aoi is much better…Her hair flows down her shoulder, and her lips are sweet like honey. I bet this dude doesn't even know how to kiss a girl properly…The way I kissed Aoi…that was way more that proper…' _Chie's thoughts were interrupted when her father spoke. "Chie-chan, Colonel Wong will escort you to your quarters and tomorrow morning we'll have the briefing. We are looking to sent you to Gukka as soon as possible."

Chie nodded and walked out following Rei. They walked in silence, for whenever Rei tried to start a conversation, she would just not continue them giving him 'yes and no' answers whenever he asked anything.

When they arrived, Chie tried to enter but was stopped by Rei. "Miss Hallard, I would like to ask you to dinner later tonight. I know that you are tired from your trip, but perhaps we can go out after you've had some rest."

Chie looked at the arm blocking her doorway and then looked at Rei. _'Well father isn't here…' _"As boring as that sounds, Colonel Wong, I think I'm going to have to decline, so if you don't mind, please remove your arm from my doorway."

As Chie proceeded to move his arm, Rei pulled her towards him and gave her a kiss on the lips. Chie felt disgusted and tried to pry him off but was not successful since he was strong and had a tight hold of her.

Rei finally stepped back and smiled at Chie. "Since you will soon be my wife, it is better you get used to me and learn to respect me. I heard you come from Garderobe, so I'll probably have to teach you what a real man is."

Chie looked at him and couldn't believe it. He had just kissed her and now he was saying he was going to marry her? Chie wanted to cry, but instead, she decided to do something that would satisfy her more.

She walked closer to him and kicked him in his groin. In a flash he was on the floor as he grunted.

"Don't you ever fucking do that again, understood? Or I will fucking kill you!" Chie screamed to the Colonel on the floor. "Oh, and don't believe everything my father says, because hell will freeze over the day I marry you, and coming from there, you know that won't happen any time soon."

Chie left him on the floor and entered her room. She locked her door and collapsed on the floor crying. _'Aoi…Aoi…I miss you so much!'_

_-----------------------_

"Aoi, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mashiro asked as she saw beside Aoi in the garden. Arika was at Garderobe and she had been waiting for a good moment to talk to Aoi alone.

"Of course Queen Mashiro." Aoi said as she smiled.

"Well first of all, I already told you to just call me Mashiro, and second of all, I know something is bothering you, well more like hurting you…" Mashiro explained while looking at Aoi.

At this, Aoi looked away, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes. "I…Why do you say that, Mashiro-sama?" she asked.

"Aoi, you have been with me for as long as I can remember, and I know you as well as you know me. So don't lie to me please. Arika told me about Chie-san…" Mashiro said while petting Mikoto.

"Oh…well there isn't really anything left to say, she left and…there's nothing I can do about it…" Aoi said with sadness in her voice that Mashiro was able to notice.

"That's were you're wrong Aoi. You can do something. Why don't you go after her? I know that you love her as much as she loves you right?" Mashiro asked.

"I…I can't. She left and I can't follow her, because I have to stay here…"Aoi said quietly.

"Aoi, if this is because of your job, don't worry about me. I have Arika and she will take care of me, and besides, I'm a big girl now right? I will miss you, but Chie needs you more than I do. Think about your happiness, Aoi." Mashiro said while looking at Aoi. She grabbed Aoi's hands and said, "I know you love her, so please go and be happy. I would do the same thing if Arika ever left, so please, go with her."

Aoi looked at Mashiro and contemplated her words. _'Mashiro is right, I do love her, I just hope she still loves me…'_

"You're right Mashiro-sama, you're right."

-----------------------

It had been a few days since Chie had arrived at the Aries Forces Headquarters and she was ready to leave in a couple of days. She had not seen Rei after the incident and she hoped that he had decided to leave her alone, but unfortunately, she was wrong.

Chie had been summoned by her father in his office and was sitting across from him. She had no idea why he had called her so hastily, saying it was 'urgent'.

"Chie-chan, there is something I need to talk to you about, and its rather serious." and as Takashi spoke, the door opened to reveal a smiling Rei who walked in and took a seat beside Chie.

"Otou-sama! What the hell is he doing here?" Chie asked with anger as she stood up away from Rei.

"Chie-chan, sit down this instant!" Takashi yelled as he too stood up to intimidate Chie, which worked. Chie took a seat again, but moved her chair away from Rei, who just smiled.

"What is he doing here otou-sama?" Chie asked again, she couldn't believe that Rei had the nerve to get near her again. "Well Chie, as I had told you before, since you failed to find a good suitor for you, I have chosen one for you. Rei is willing to marry you, and although I heard you two had a little incident before, I am sure you two can work it out." Takashi said looking at his daughter and then to a ever smiling Rei.

"Of course we will General Hallard. I will take good care of your daughter. I was hoping we could get married before we leave for Gukka, if that's fine of course," Rei said while taking a hold a Chie's hand.

Chie automatically withdrew her hand and stood up. "No way in hell am I going to marry him! You have no right to tell me who I can marry and who I can't."

"Chie-chan, I will not tolerate your behavior. You will not disobey me, we gave you plenty of opportunities to find a good man, but you failed. Rei is the perfect man for you." Takashi said and then looked at Rei, "Don't worry Colonel Wong-san, Chie will marry you in two days, the day before you two leave for Gukka."

Chie walked to her father and said with tears, "Otou-sama please, I don't want to marry him, I…I…I still love Aoi."

At this, Takashi slapped his daughter which threw her to the floor. Rei just watched with amazement. "Don't worry Wong-san, Chie-chan doesn't know what she is talking about. You know how those girls at Garderobe are, with all their crazy stuff."

Rei laughed at his comment and said "You're right General, and it's not like they have a good example with that Principal. I heard she and that other Otome are a couple right? I don't know how they let perverts like her have control over a school and brainwash so many young girls."

When Chie heard this, she stood up and walked towards Rei and slapped him. Takashi could not believe her daughter's nerve to slap her fiancée in front of him. "Chie! What do you think you are doing!?"

Chie ignored her father and grabbed Rei by his collar. "Don't you ever, ever say anything like that about Principal Kruger and Shizuru-onee-sama! Better yet, don't ever even speak about them in my presence, or I will make you regret it for the rest of your life." Chie was not going to tolerate him speaking like that of Natsuki-sama and Shizuru-onee-sama. She respected and loved both of them very much as if they were her older sisters. She would not let a bastard like Rei talk about them like that.

Chie released him and walked out of the office. She heard her father order her to stop but she had had enough. She was not going to marry Rei and there was nothing they could do about it. Chie did not know what to do now, she had just disobeyed her father for the first time in her life.

As Chie walked outside of the headquarters, she saw the guard arguing with a young woman. Chie's eyes were glassy from the tears, and she did not have her eyeglasses with her, so she could not see who that woman was. Chie decided to ignore it and kept walking until she heard something.

"You have to let me through! I need to see Major Chie Hallard!" Chie heard this, and although she noticed the person had her title wrong, since she was already a colonel, she recognized the sweet voice.

'_Aoi…?It that really you?'_ Chie felt her heart pump faster as walked closer to them. Aoi saw Chie and pushed away the guard that had a grip on her arm to keep her from entering the headquarters, since there were orders that no women could come visit Chie. Takashi had given those orders just in case her daughter was still being stubborn.

"Chie!" Aoi exclaimed with joy as she ran over to Chie. She grabbed Chie and hugged her tightly, "Chie! Chie! Please forgive me. I'm so sorry for not listening to you to being with, please forgive me. I love you Chie!"

"Aoi…" Chie didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe it. Aoi had come back for her and still loved her! "Aoi, Thank you, Thank you so much." Chie said while she hugged Aoi tighter. "I Love you too."

As Chie held Aoi close to her, she was pulled away from her by a strong arm. "What do you think you are doing with my daughter?!" Chie heard her father yell at Aoi, who just looked stunned by the display of rage Takashi was showing. She didn't know what to do and Chie pried his hold of her and stood beside Aoi while holding onto her.

"Otou-sama, this is Aoi Senoh, the love of my life." Chie said with courage and pride as she watched her father's face contort with disgust.

**A/N: **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! I really appreciate them and they really give me a lot of support to keep writing this. I've been trying to update everyday, and I will keep doing this while I can. Again, thank you so much for all your reviews and for reading this. I hope all of you enjoy this chapter and keep reading ****J**

_Next Chapter: Takashi reacts to Chie's relationship with Aoi. Will he accept it or reject his daughter?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. (I do own Takashi Hallard and Rei Wong.)  
**

**Failing**

**5. **

"What…what is the meaning of this Chie?!" Takashi asked bitterly. He could not believe what he was seeing. His daughter was holding on to a girl and professing her love for her. This was unacceptable. _'Unacceptable.'_

"Otou-sama, Aoi is the one and only owner of my heart. I love her and I will be with her no matter what you or anybody else says." Chie stated with pride although she was scared of her father's reaction. Aoi held onto her tighter. _'She loves me, she is standing up to her father for us. Chie really loves me…' _Aoi thought ,and said to Takashi, "Sir, I love your daughter with all my heart, please-" and before she could continue, she was interrupted by Takashi.

"Silence! Do not dare even direct your words towards me, you have perverted my girl, and I will not forgive any of this." Rei walked out to join the family reunion and laughed when he heard Takashi silencing the girl. "So, General, this is the whore that perverted my Chie?"

Aoi tensed when she heard Rei's words. _'Did he just say "My Chie"? That bastard…' _Aoi thought ignoring his offense to her, but before she could react she felt Chie leave her side.

Chie walked up to Rei and punched him across the face throwing him to the ground. She went over him and started punching him more, keeping him immobilized with her legs. "You will not talk to my Aoi like that. Ever, Ever, Ever again." Chie said with one last punch until her father pried of off the young man.

"Chie! You are acting like a wild animal! Is this what they teach you at Garderobe? To be a lesbian and to act like a beast? I will not tolerate this! I sent you to Garderobe to become an Otome so that it would help you here in the Forces." Takashi said when he took his daughter off Rei.

Chie was taken back by his father's bitter words. Aoi walked to her and grabbed her, which was good because Chie felt her legs giving up on her. Tears formed in her eyes, but her father continued.

"I promoted you to Colonel because I thought you would be a successful leader, but look what you have done." Chie heard this and said "Father, who I'm in love with doesn't affect my duties as a colonel or as an Otome," but before she continue, Takashi once more interrupted her.

"I've had enough of this. I am officially removing you from the Aries Forces. From this moment you are to leave this military premises and take your friend with you." Takashi said as he turned around and helped the bleeding Rei inside.

"Chie…let's go…" Aoi spoke softly as she helped Chie walk outside. A young cadet carrying her things was sent to her. "Here are your things Miss Hallard," he said. Aoi received the suitcase and thanked the cadet. "Aoi…what are we going to do?" asked Chie who had just recovered from the bitterness in her father's words. She was in complete shock when he had kicked her out of the Forces. All her life she had waited to join and now that she was finally a top ranking officer, this had to happen. She didn't blame Aoi at all, since she loved her, but she was still upset.

"I don't know Chie, what do you want to do? I was thinking we could go back to Windbloom, and maybe you could get a job at Garderobe or something…"Aoi said while stroking Chie's hair as she laid in her lap.

"A job? At Garderobe? Well, I don't see why not…maybe I can talk to Principal Kruger…" Chie said. She didn't really know what to do at all. She had extensive military knowledge and such, but working at Garderobe required other skills that she wasn't sure she possessed.

A bus arrived and took them to the train station where they boarded a train for Windbloom. They had been quiet throughout the trip, and Chie's mind raced with thoughts. _'My father will tell my mother and pretty soon all my family will know and hate me. They will disown me and hate me. They will all hate me…Is this really worth it?'_ Chie turned her head slightly to find a sleeping Aoi. Chie kept looking at her and caressed Aoi's cheek gently with her hand, bringing a smile to Aoi's sleeping face. _'Yes, she's definitely worth it.'_

Chie decided to rest her head against Aoi's shoulder and started to doze off while the train took them closer to their home.

**A/N:**

**Thank you so much again for reading this! Please review! I decided to upload two chapters today, but I still plan on uploading again tomorrow. Hopefully. I also want to dedicate this chapter to my sister, Anita, because she helped me edit this chapter. Thank You Ani!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this and enjoy the rest of the story. Arigato!**

_Next Chapter: Chie and Aoi are back at Windbloom, what will they do now that Chie has been disowned? Natsuki and Shizuru make an appearance!!!!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. **

**Failing**

**6. **

"Aoi-san! Chie-san! Welcome back!" The girls had just arrived at the palace and were greeted with a hug from Arika. "Hi Arika-chan," Chie said as she hugged the girl back. She was glad to be back to Windbloom, the place that had been her home for so long.

"Aoi!" Mashiro said as she came and hugged Aoi, "I missed you…" Aoi hugged the girl. "I missed you too Mashiro-sama."

Mashiro released Aoi from the embrace and turned to Chie. "Welcome back Chie-san. I'm glad Aoi found you," Mashiro said while giving Aoi a wink that was not missed by Chie. "Am I missing something here?" Chie asked while cocking her eyebrow at Aoi.

Aoi smiled. "I have to accept, it was thanks to Mashiro-sama that I realized it was a mistake to let you go…"

Chie surprised Mashiro with a hug. "Thank you Mashiro-sama. Thank you."

Mashiro blushed slightly at this and said softly, "No problem."

"Okay, okay Chie-san, now you have Aoi-san, Mashiro is all mine," Arika said jokingly while grabbing onto Mashiro. Chie laughed, "you're right Arika-chan, now I have Aoi, and I have her all to myself."

Chie grabbed Aoi by the waist and planted a soft lips onto her lips. "Okay that's enough PDA, get a room guys, there are enough here in the palace, and if you're like Mashiro and me, you can try them all!" Arika stated with excitement. Mashiro blushed deeply at Arika's exposing comment. "Arika!" she exclaimed while grabbing onto the girl's hand and pulling her away.

"But Mashiro," Arika whimpered as she was being dragged away. "Please excuse us," Mashiro said with a tight grip onto the girl's hand.

Chie was laughing as she watched Arika and Mashiro leave. Aoi just nodded at the queen as she tried to cover her laughter. "Those two are really something huh'?" Chie said while trying to subdue her laughter. "Yes, really something," Aoi replied.

Aoi and Chie walked to Aoi's room and settled in. Aoi unpacked Chie's suitcase while Chie sat on the bed, "I'm so tired," she said as she stretched onto the mattress. "So Aoi, does this mean we're living together?"

"Yea, I guess, unless you don't want to…" Aoi said as she finished unpacking. "No, no, that's not what I meant. I was just making sure I had the right idea…" Chie quickly said. "Tomorrow I will talk to Principal Kruger to see if there's any positions available at Garderobe."

"That sounds good. Hopefully she'll be able to help you," Aoi answered as she settled onto the bed besides Chie. She snuggled close to her and started to doze off until Chie started kissing her. "I thought you said you were tired…"

Chie continued kissing Aoi and said with a smirk, "Well, I was hoping we could practice a little bit before we try out every room like Arika suggested." Aoi just smiled and enjoyed Chie's practice.

-----------------------

The next morning Chie went to Garderobe to speak to Natsuki. _'I really hope she's got something for me…'_ she thought and as she turned to the next hallway she saw Shizuru walking towards the principal's office. "Shizuru-oneesama!" Shizuru turned around as she heard Chie calling her and smiled as Chie approached her. "Well hello Chie-san, I didn't expect to see you here. I pictured you in Gukka by now," Shizuru stated with an amused tone. Chie looked down at the ground embarrassed and wondered how she knew about Gukka, but then remembered that being the Deputy Headmistress, Shizuru had access to all the student files.

Shizuru noticed Chie's reaction. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Well, I was discharged from the Forces," Chie admitted.

"Discharged? How come?" Shizuru inquired with curiosity. She had know Chie since she first enrolled and knew that as much of a flirt and tease Chie was, she was not a trouble-maker.

"Well, it's kind of complicated," Chie said with embarrassment, but then she remembered that Shizuru would be able to understand her since she was in a relationship similar to hers, and for what she had heard, she and Natsuki had their fair share of troubles with their parents. "My otou-sama wanted to marry me off to some guy and I disobeyed him and told him that I was serious about my relationship with Aoi, so he kicked me out so now I'm basically unemployed and I was hoping that the Headmistress might have a job opening available."

When Shizuru heard this she hugged the girl for she knew what it felt to have your parent's reject you. Shizuru's parents had not objected too much at her relationship with Natsuki as much as Natsuki's parents had. They were still trying to get her parents to understand, but so far, they had not been too successful.

"Don't worry Chie-chan, I will make sure Natsuki finds you something. I know how hard it is to feel that your parents don't love you, but if you have Aoi and you love her, you have nothing to worry about," Shizuru said with a sincere smile. Chie felt warmth and comfort not only from the hug but from Shizuru's words, "Thank you Shizuru-oneesama, your words really do mean a lot to me," Chie said as Shizuru released her.

The two girls walked to the principal's office, and as Shizuru knocked, she said to Chie with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Chie nodded and returned the smile.

"Come in!" was heard from the inside of the office. Shizuru and Chie walked in and Chie was surprised at all the piles of documents stacked on the Headmistress' desk. Shizuru laughed when she saw Chie's surprise and as if she could read her mind said, "Don't worry Chie-chan, this is nothing compared to the stacks of papers that get accumulated when the year actually starts."

"Besides," Shizuru said as she walked behind the principal's chair and wrapped her arms around Natsuki, "My Natsuki-chan needs to learn to stop procrastinating her work to do other more _fun_ things," Shizuru said as Natsuki blushed fiercely. "I don't procrastinate!" Natsuki exclaimed, 'You just interrupt me and distract me all the time."

"Ara Ara, are you saying it's my fault that Natsuki-chan doesn't get her work done?" Chie just looked on as Natsuki and Shizuru went back and forth until Shizuru said, "Well, I'll deal with you later Natsuki-chan, right now there are other matters that need your attention." Natsuki smiled at Chie, "How can I help you Chie-chan?"

Shizuru took it to herself to explain the situation to Natsuki. "Well, as much as I wish I could help you, I'm not sure we actually have something that can use your military knowledge and abilities here in Garderobe, being as to how we already have enough training teachers…" Natsuki said apologetically.

"Oh…Well…That's fine…"Chie said sadly and before she could excuse herself from the room, Shizuru spoke up. "No, wait, I think I might know who can help you Chie-chan." Shizuru walked to the phone and started dialing a number as Chie and Natsuki looked onto her questioningly. "Hello? Yes I need to speak with Meister Otome Haruka Armitage please," Shizuru said onto the receiver, "Yes, I'll wait…"

"Oh! Great idea Shizuru," Natsuki commented as she remembered what Shizuru had told her about Haruka's plans for a new force. Chie remained confused and out of the loop, but she hoped that they could help her.

"Hello Haruka-chan…yes she is….no….I know Haruka-chan, but before we talk about that, there is something I need to ask you," Shizuru said as she spoke to Haruka. "Do you still need somebody to lead your force? Yes? Oh that's great because I have somebody who will be perfect for the job…Oh really? Then I'll send her over. Okay, thank you."

"Okay Chie-chan, you have an appointment with Meister Armitage tomorrow at the presidency of Aries. She will hopefully be able to help you," Shizuru said to Chie when she hanged up.

"Thank you so much Shizuru oneesama, Principal," Chie said to the two girls. "I will be there tomorrow, once more, thank you."

Chie said goodbye and excused herself. She had to tell Aoi the good news.

"I'm glad you could help her Shizuru," Natsuki said as she returned to her paperwork.

"Yes, I'm glad I could help her too, but now how about I help you and give you a break from all your hard work.." Shizuru said seductively as she leaned into Natsuki.

Natsuki grabbed her and said playfully as Shizuru started kissing her neck. "See? It is your fault I never get anything done…"

**A/N:**

**Here's another chapter! Thanks for all the reviews! Specially to angelronin for always reviewing! I hope you guys all liked this and I will try to update tomorrow again, and if not, I will Monday. Thank you all again and I hope you keep liking this story :D**

_Next Chapter: Chie goes on a job interview with Haruka and her father makes a comeback! What does he want now? _

_Yukino and Haruka coming up!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does.**

**I do own Takashi and Sakuria Hallard.**

**Failing**

**7. **

"Hi, my name is Chie Hallard and I have an appointment with General Armitage," Chie told the receptionist at the presidential office. She had traveled to Aries after Shizuru had arranged an appointment for her with Haruka.

"Yes, one second please," the receptionist said as she picked up her phone and called the president. "President Chrysant, someone is here to speak with General Armitage…Chie Hallard…Okay." The receptionist nodded towards the door, "You may go in."

"Thank you," Chie said as she turned to the door.

Chie walked in and found Haruka standing besides President Yukino. Everyone knew that they were a couple, and although it seemed everyone supported their relationship, Haruka had decided against making it public, since she didn't want Yukino's presidential skills to be questioned due to it.

"Chie Hallard, it's a pleasure to finally see you again!" Haruka said in her booming voice. "President Chrysant, General Armitage, it's a pleasure to see you both as well." Chie replied while bowing with respect. Yukino smiled and motioned for the girl to sit.

"The bubuzuke woman told me you were looking for a job and she recommended you for my new force, but tell me, I thought you were in the forces, what happened?" Haruka inquired from Chie and before she could answer, Yukino saved her from having to explain. "Haruka-chan, she must have personal reasons, and I don't really believe it will affect her candidacy for the position." Yukino said to Haruka before turning to Chie. "Miss Hallard, did Shizuru-san tell you what the position is exactly?"

"Hmmm…not really, she just told me it was for a new force that General Armitage was making, but she didn't give me many details about it." Chie answered honestly. She was glad she didn't have to explain about her discharge again, because knowing Haruka, she would make a big deal out of it.

"Well Hallard, my plan is to make a force called, 'Delta Otome Squad'" Haruka explained proudly and continued, "which will consist of former Garderobe students who excelled in their training but don't want to or haven't become Meister Otomes, and I already have contacted a few, but I'm still missing a leader which is why I called Viola to help me find one."

"And," Yukino said when Haruka was done, "Shizuru-san has recommended you for this position due to your advanced military skills along with you having graduated as leader of the Trias."

"Yes, well I do have a lot of field training and experience which would probably come in handy in your squad General Armitage, I would be honored if you chose me for the position," Chie said hoping to get the job, since it would be perfect for her. She hoped that it would not require relocation though, although Aoi seemed willing to follow her to the edge of Earl.

"Yes, that is why I have called you. Viola sent me your file and you seem to be perfect for the job. I'm still recruiting some members but the team training should start in a few weeks, since I want the squad to be ready for any emergencies and threats ,should they occur, specially now that some _terrifying_ groups are looking to free Nagi," Haruka said. "_Terrorist_ groups Haruka-chan, not terrifying," corrected Yukino.

"That's what I mean, anyways, you're hired." Haruka said without embarrassment, since she was already used to Yukino correcting her.

"Really? Thanks you both so much!" Chie said with gratitude.

"Oh, and one more thing Miss Hallard," Yukino said as she remembered Chie's military status, "Since you will be leading the squad, it automatically makes you a major in the Aries Forces once more."

Chie was surprised at this and wondered what her father's reaction would be, since he had been the one to discharge her. Haruka saw Chie's tensed posture at Yukino's information and said, "and don't worry about your earlier discharge, nobody can discharge a soldier who is placed in the forces directly by the president, so whoever threw you out will have to suck it up."

Chie smiled slightly at this, for she found it quite satisfying to know that her father's power was not the top power in the world. She was glad she would be in the force again, although she was a little intimidated by the thought of seeing her father again, although she knew that she would have to see him sooner or later either way. He was her otou-sama after all.

-----------------------

Chie had returned to Windbloom after the meeting with General Armitage and President Chrysant. She was eager to tell Aoi the news about her job but what she found when she returned to the palace was definitely not what she expected.

As Chie walked through the main hallway looking for Aoi, she heard some arguing coming from the Queen's office. She kept walking for it was none of her business until she recognized one of the voices belonging to her father.

"Queen, I am requesting that you force your maid to leave my daughter alone," Chie heard her father say as she neared the door. "I am telling you for the last time that what my employees do in their personal lives is none of my business sir, and I would like to ask you that you leave the palace this minute before you make me lose the little patience I have left," Mashiro stated which made Chie proud of her, _That's right Mashiro-sama, you tell them!'_ she thought. She was actually surprised that her father did not intimidate Mashiro, but then again, she was a queen, she was not supposed to get intimidated by anyone.

Chie kept listening by the door. "If you two would accompany me to the exit please," she heard Arika say. _'You two? Who else is there with my father?" _Chie asked in her mind.

"Queen Mashiro, it is an offense to throw an Aries General out from your palace, are you willing to risk political ties with Aries over a mere maid?" Takashi asked as the Queen's Otome tried to lead them away.

"A mere maid? No General Hallard, she is more than that, she is my friend and I will help her no matter what. She is happy with Chie-san, so please leave now," Mashiro said as she pointed to the door in rage. She would not allow anybody to talk about Aoi that way. Although they were not that far apart in age, Aoi had been like a mother for Mashiro and a great friend.

Arika opened the door and escorted them to the exit of the palace in silence while Takashi ranted on to the woman that had come with him. "Can you believe it? We are being thrown out of this palace, oh, but let me tell you Otome, I will make sure your queen regrets this move," Takashi said directing the last part to Arika.

Arika just rolled her eyes and ignored him. She could not believe they were related to Chie-san. She was so sweet and funny, while they were mean and arrogant, _' I guess it's true when they say one doesn't choose their own families' _Arika thought and kept walking until Takashi suddenly halted along with his company. Arika looked around to see what stopped the General until she saw her. _'Oh great. This day could no get any worst,'_ she thought with a frown on her face.

"Look!" Takashi said to woman beside him as he pointed to a startled Aoi, "That is the maid who perverted our little girl." Aoi saw Chie's father and a woman she had no seen before. She was suddenly scared and looked onto Arika for help, who saw her plead and said, "Well, let's keep going please, the exit is a little farther down this hallway. Let's continue."

Unfortunately, Takashi was not done with Aoi. He walked towards her and grabbed her by her arm as he yelled at her, "You perverted my little girl! Now thanks to you I had to kick her out of the one place she loved the most! Do you know all the shame this has brought to our family?" Takashi asked while shaking Aoi roughly. Arika tried to pry him off of Aoi but was not strong enough without her robe. Aoi started to cry as Takashi yelled louder, "Stop crying! Those are just crocodile tears! All you did was pervert Chie-chan!"

Takashi kept yelling until Chie ran to her father and tried to pull him away. "Leave her alone! Leave her alone otou-sama!" she yelled until he finally released her. Mashiro came at the sound of all the screaming and saw Chie hold a sobbing Aoi close. "What have you done to Aoi?!" She asked Takashi with fury as Arika grabbed her hand to try to calm her down a bit.

"Oh, I see why you defend the maid so much, you are just as perverted as she is," Takashi spat at the Queen when he saw Arika holding her hand, but before Mashiro could say anything, the woman who had been watching the whole scene unravel without saying anything finally spoke up as she saw Chie holding Aoi lovingly.

"Chie…" the woman spoke softly as she walked towards her. Chie was startled as she heard the voice and looked up to the woman she had failed to notice before. "Mother?" Chie asked confused as she didn't expect to see her there. Chie had quickly escaped to not be noticed when Arika had opened the door to escort her father out, since she did not want to see him at all, and now she saw who the other person Arika had mentioned was.

Takashi was surprised his wife finally said something. She was usually a quiet woman and did not like being involved in his business, although she had asked to come since it involved her youngest daughter. Mashiro was fuming with anger but before she called the guards, Arika squeezed her hand and motioned to Chie and her mother. Mashiro understood her message and watched on, giving Chie a chance to try to resolve a family matter.

"Chie, do you really love this girl?" Sakuria asked as she came closer to her daughter and Aoi. Chie instinctively held Aoi closer and moved her behind her so that she would be between her and her mother. She did not want any more harm done to the girl. "Yes mother, I love her with all my heart and no matter what you or my father says, I will stay with her," Chie stated firmly.

Sakuria saw the determination in her daughters eyes and was surprised that not even Takashi, Chie's beloved otou-sama, could change her mind. "You love her although she is just….a maid?" she asked with a disgusted tone. Although the Hallard family was not royalty, their family was high class and important enough to want their children married to appropriate, same-class partners.

Chie sensed her mother's disapproval but decided against trying to make her understand. She had enough of her family's disappointment to try to fight it. She was going to be with Aoi come hell or high water. "I love her no matter what mother, and if you can't accept that then I guess you have just lost a daughter," Chie said with a determination and courage that scared both of her parents.

"Chie-chan," Takashi said as he went closer to his daughter, which Arika found to be too dangerous and materialized with Mashiro's approval. She quickly jumped between Takashi and the pair, "Back off General unless you're ready to fight me," Arika remarked as stood her ground in front of him. Chie was glad to have Arika defend them, but decided she had to take care of her parents before any more harm was done. Chie released Aoi and walked past her mother and Arika towards her father.

"Otou-sama, please leave and don't ever come near Aoi or me again. As much as it hurts me, if you can't accept Aoi, then you can't accept me either." Chie turned to her mother as she continued, " Mother, I'm sorry if I didn't turn out like the daughter you wanted, but this is who I am, and if you can't accept me either, than both of you can leave."

Chie was filled with pain as she spoke this words but she knew that it was necessary to keep Aoi safe from them. Takashi and Sakuria both looked at each other for guidance since they did not know what to do. "Let's go Sakuria, we don't need to stand here and take this from our daughter." Takashi said as he took Sakuria by the hand and pulled her with him. Sakuria looked to Chie and Aoi and realized that perhaps Chie really was in love with that girl. Perhaps she just needed to accept it and show her daughter her support. Sakuria realized all this things as she left the palace, knowing that it was too late, she had lost her daughter.

Chie looked at her retreating parents and then staggered weakly into Aoi's arms. She had just kicked her otou-sama and her mother from her life. She had lost her family for Aoi, but she knew that Aoi was definitely worth it as she felt Aoi's caring arms around her pulling her closer to her. "It's okay Chie…" she heard Aoi whispering to her ear trying to comfort her, "It's okay."

'_Yes, I'll be okay, We'll be okay."_

**A/N:**

**Sorry for not updating until now, but here is chapter 7! Hope you like it! I dedicate this to my friend FiferRose! I told you so! Thanks for the reviews everyone! Please keep reviewing and reading! Love you all!  
**

_Next Chapter: Chie and Aoi finally have their lives back on track, but Chie still has a question for Aoi. What will her answer be? _


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. **

**Failing**

**8. **

Aoi walked into the apartment and as she expected, found Chie spread in the sofa sleeping. She had found Chie sleeping everyday for the past week. Chie had been too exhausted from training to wait for Aoi awake. Aoi knew this and as she had done everyday, she covered Chie with a blanket and proceeded to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Aoi found a note on the table next to a blue rose.

_Hey Love, if you're reading this it's probably because I was too tired and fell asleep, and I'm sorry, its just that Haruka-san has been making us work really hard all this week and she works us until not even our nano-machines can help us! She says its because she wants us to be 'the best delta squad ever', but seriously, we are THE only delta squad, but oh well. Good thing that they're holding the training here at Garderobe because if not, I would probably be too tired to even come home. I'm sorry I haven't seen you much lately, since when you get home I'm already asleep and when I get up you have already left to work. I miss you and I promise I will make it up to you. How about we go on a date tomorrow? I don't have training and we can go out somewhere for dinner. Sounds good? Gosh, I'm asking my girlfriend out on a date through a note…how lame have I become? Well I hope you say yes. I love you._

_P.S. Dinner is in the oven. I hope you like it __J _

Aoi smiled as she put the letter down and went to get her dinner. Chie, being considerate as always, had cooked dinner for her again, as she had done for the whole time they had been together in their new apartment. She had insisted that she could cook herself when she got home, but Chie never listened to her and said Aoi got home too late to have to worry about dinner. _'My Chie, sweet as always,'_ thought Aoi with a smile.

Aoi wrote a note to Chie accepting her date and kissed a sleeping Chie goodnight before going to bed.

-----------------------

Aoi and Chie walked hand in hand through the park as Chie looked for a good place to set their dinner picnic. This was the same park where she had once asked Aoi to be her girlfriend, and once more she expected to ask Aoi another important question.

"Let's set up here," Chie said as she lead Aoi into an empty area beside the lake in which the stars reflected upon.

"This is so nice," Aoi commented as they looked up to the stars after dinner. "I know," Chie replied as she stood and knelt in front of Aoi. She shifted nervously as she took a small box out of her jacket.

'_Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,' _Aoi thoughts raced as she saw Chie kneeling and taking the small velvet box out. _'Is she gonna propose?! Oh my God! She is! She is!'_

"Aoi, I know we have gone through a lot and there seems to be a lot of obstacles, but we have gone through them and we will get over whatever other obstacles there might be along the way, but I want you to know that you are my strength and my whole life. Without you I couldn't do anything and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…so I wanted to ask you if you…you would marry me?" Chie asked nervously while opening the box which revealed a precious ring with a beautiful round diamond.

Aoi practically jumped onto Chie as tears rolled off her eyes. "Of course I will! I want to be your wife!" she exclaimed happily. Chie placed the ring on Aoi's finger and kissed her softly and passionately. She was so happy she finally had enough courage to ask her.

Aoi pulled away from the kiss and with a smile said, "I will be your wife only if you are mine." Chie smiled remembering that's what she had said when she had first asked her to be her girlfriend in the same park where they now stood.

"Only yours, always and forever," Chie said smiling. This time she would protect Aoi from everything and everyone.

**A/N:** **I know this was really short chapter, and I apologize but I really wanted to make this a chapter by itself, and I will try to update soon. Please review and thanks to those who do, and if you don't, well at least I'm glad you like the story and keep reading :D **

**Next chapter will definitely be longer.**

_Next Chapter: Chie and Aoi are getting ready for the wedding! Chie gets an unexpected visit, and no, its not her parents…_


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does.

Failing

9.

"So, Chie, why so happy? Did ya try something new with Aoi-san last night or what?" asked Leah, one of the Deltas as they prepared for training in the Training Ground's locker room in Garderobe.

"As a matter of fact, yes I did," answered Chie with a smile. Leah was surprised at the blunt admission and blushed at the thought. "I proposed to Aoi last night."

"Oh…Right, well that's new.." Leah said with a harder blush, "Oi, why are you blushing? Did you have naughty thoughts?" Chie asked with a smirk of her own. " What?! No, of course not! Congratulations Chie-chan!" Leah exclaimed to change the subject from her blushing.

"Congratulations for what?" asked Mia as she entered. "Chie-chan is getting married to Aoi-san!" Leah replied.

"Really?! That's amazing! Congrats Chie-chan!" Mia said as she went to give her a hug.

"Hey! What's going on in here?" Haruka asked as she walked into the locker room and saw Mia hugging Chie. "Aren't you with Aoi-san anymore Chie-chan?" she asked.

"What?! No no! Haruka-san! Chie-chan is getting married to Aoi-san!" replied Mia while Chie nodded proudly.

"Is that so? Well it's about time Chie-chan, it sure took you long enough," remarked Haruka.

"Well, at least I've finally done it, when are you planning on asking Yukino-san to marry you Haruka-chan?" Chie asked teasingly.

"What?! Wha..What kind of question is that?!" Haruka questioned with a blush. It was true that she had been with Yukino a long time and she had yet to ask her hand in marriage.

"Well…don't tell me that the great General Armitage is scared of proposing!?" Chie teased and the other girls in the locker room chuckled.

"What are you all laughing at?" asked Haruka in rage at being laughed at by her own squad. "Well if you think its funny, why don't you all do 50 extra laps around the track?"

"Awwwww come on!" all the girls complained. "No robes! And you can thank Miss Hallard for being funny," stated Haruka with a smile. _'That will teach them to make fun of me!'_

"Great Job CHIE!" they all said sarcastically in unison. "Gomen, gomen," Chie apologized . "Gosh, Haruka-chan, can't take a joke…" she said under her breath, "What was that Hallard?!" Haruka called from the inside of the locker room, "Nothing, nothing," Chie said as she hurried off with the others to the track.

---------------------

Chie returned home and was surprised to find Aoi in the kitchen cooking dinner. "Aoi? What are you doing home so early?" she asked as she walked over to hug Aoi.

Aoi smiled and hugged Chie back. "Well when I told Mashiro-sama that you had proposed she was really happy and for some reason, she gave me the rest of the day off."

"Oh really? Well that's nice. I had to run 50 extra laps today for making fun of Haruka-chan." Chie stated with her signature smirk. "Ara, why were you making fun of her?" Aoi asked as she continued cooking.

"Well she told me it was about time I proposed to you and then I asked her if she was scared of asking Yukino-san to marry her," Aoi laughed, "Oh Chie, that's why you're always getting in trouble."

"Yea, well, but that's why you love me," Chie said as she surprised Aoi by hugging her and nuzzling on her neck. "One of the many reasons why I love you," Aoi replied as she smiled at the contact with her fiancée.

"Well, are you gonna let me finish cooking anytime soon Chie?" Aoi asked when Chie made no move to let go of her.

"Hmm…I guess so," Chie said as she released Aoi, "I'm gonna go change, I'll be right back so that I can help you set up the table."

"Okay, thank you." Aoi said as Chie left for the their bedroom.

-DING-DING-DING-

"I got it!" Chie said from the bedroom as she quickly finish putting her sweatpants on. _'I wonder who it is this late…'_

Chie opened the door and was stunned.

"Hiro? Oneesan?…What are you guys doing here?" Chie asked nervously. _'Oh my God, otou-sama probably sent them to try to get me back…' _

"Well, can't we just come visit our little sister when we want to or do we need a reason?" said Aya.

"If father sent you then you better leave, I'm not changing my mind." Chie said quickly.

"Chie, come on, do you really think we are as close minded as dad? You should know better. We stick together for ever!" Hiroshi said as he stepped forward and embraced Chie in a warm hug.

"Hiro…" Chie said as she felt tears forming in her eyes. Hiroshi released Chie and she turned to her sister to hug her, "Thank you Aya-chan."

"No problem Chie. We're here for you." Aya said as she returned the embrace.

"Chie, who is it?" Aoi asked as she came and saw Chie hugging the older girl. Hiroshi saw Aoi and came from beside Aya, "Well, well, you must be the lucky bride-to-be," Hiroshi said as he stepped forwards toward the girl.

Aya released her sister as she turned to see Aoi, Chie was surprised that Hiroshi knew about the wedding. She walked over to Aoi and said, " Yes, this is Aoi Senoh, but how did you know we're getting married?" she asked curiously, after all, she had not told anybody in her family, obviously.

"Ha! You think you were gonna get married without us knowing?" asked Hiro, "Please, Haruka-chan told me _all_ about it."

"Haruka-chan?" Chie didn't know Hiroshi was good friends with Haruka. "Of course! Haruka-chan and I are like this," he said as he crossed his two fingers, "we're pretty 'tight' as one would say."

Chie was surprised, she didn't now anybody could be that 'tight' to Haruka-chan, of course by the exception of Yukino-san, but that was different.

"This is my sister, Aya, and my brother Hiroshi," Chie said as she introduced her siblings. "Pleasure to meet you Aoi-san," Aya said to Aoi. Hiroshi surprised Aoi with a hug while Chie just laughed at her brother. "Welcome to the family Aoi-chan!" he said earning a blush from Aoi. "Hiro, Hiro, with how lovable you are, I find it hard to believe you haven't found yourself a girl yet," Chie teased. "Chie-chan, just what makes you think I want a girl?" Hiroshi remarked as he let go of Aoi. "Oh come on guys, are you telling me I'm the only straight one out of the three?" Aya asked teasingly. "Maybe…I'm still testing the waters," Hiroshi said with a wink.

Chie just laughed as Aoi looked on to Chie's siblings. They were very different from her parents. _'They seem to accept me, really accept me,'_ Aoi thought with joy.

"Well come on guys, why don't you stay for dinner?" Chie asked, "That's fine right Aoi?" Aoi smiled, "Of course, please join us."

"Well, we were hoping you'd say that," Hiroshi said as they were both led into the living room as Aoi finished dinner. "Wow, this is a nice place you guys have here," Hiro commented as he looked around. "Thank you, we just moved in here recently. It's the closest complex to the palace, which is good, since Aoi works there and I don't want her walking outside for too long at night." Chie said. "Awww, the always caring Chie-chan," Aya said teasingly and Chie smiled and then she noticed her oneesan had gained some weight…"Oneesan, are you…are you pregnant?" Chie asked. Hiroshi laughed, "Hell, don't you see that watermelon she's carrying around?" Aya punched her brother on the arm, "I'm not that big Hiro!"

Chie laughed, "So how far along are you?" she asked, "Four months, You should see Jiro, he's ecstatic!" Aya said with a smile. "Oh yes, Jiro-san was like crazy when Aya told the family. He was all like 'I'm gonna be a father! I'm gonna be a father!' He was just too much" Hiroshi said annoyingly. He loved teasing his older sister whenever possible. "Let him be Hiro, he's just happy," Chie said to try to calm Hiroshi down when she saw Aya glaring at her brother. "Well guys, I'm gonna help Aoi with the table, how about you guys don't kill each other while I'm not here okay?" Chie said standing up from her seat and walking to the kitchen.

"Aoi, you okay sweetie?" Chie asked as she saw Aoi leaning on the counter with tears flowing from her eyes. "Oh, Chie, yes I'm fine," Aoi said quickly when she saw Chie. "Well…you don't look fine, tell me, is something wrong?" Chie asked with worry as she looked at Aoi. "No, its just that, your brother, and…your sister…they…they accept me right?" Aoi asked cautiously. "But of course they accept you!" Chie exclaimed. "Didn't you see them? They're happy for me, for us, they don't judge us. Come on Aoi, they love me and now, they will love you because you're part of the family ." Chie hugged Aoi tightly as she calmed down. "Thank you Chie." Aoi said with a smile.

Chie released Aoi and helped her set the table up as Aoi served the meal. "Come on guys, dinner's ready!" called out Chie from the kitchen. Hiroshi and Aya came and took a sit with the couple. "This is so good!" Hiroshi exclaimed as he tried Aoi's food, "Yes, it's delicious," Aya agreed. "Thank you" Aoi said with a smile. "So when are you guys planning on getting married?" Hiroshi asked.

"Well, we haven't really talked about the details, I just proposed last night after all." Chie answered. "Well, from experience I can tell you that you better start planning soon, because time sure goes fast," Aya said as Hiroshi rolled his eyes. "Oh dear Aya, from experience you say? Please, mom planned everything out for you, so I don't know what experience you're talking about." he said with a mocking tone. "Oh shut up Hiro," Aya said irritated. "Okay okay guys, seriously, how the hell did you guys survive the trip here?" Chie asked as she saw her siblings fighting as usual. "We didn't, we came here separately," Hiroshi said with a grin. "Why the hell would I wanna travel with this pregnant, hormonal raged woman?"

"Hiro!" Aya said while glaring at him, which of course, had no effect on him. Aoi smiled and looked at Chie who just rolled her eyes with a smirk and tried to change the subject. "So…how are mom and otou-sama doing?" Hiroshi looked up at Chie with a frown. "Well, they're doing okay, but, as you know, they are upset. Specially mom, she seems quite…depressed, not exactly mad though." Chie frowned, "She's depressed?" Aya nodded, "But it's not your fault Chie-chan, its just, you know how they are. Soon they will realize their mistake."

Aoi took Chie's hand and gave her a reassuring smile. "You're right, maybe some day they'll understand," Chie said, thankful for Aoi's support. "Of course Chie-chan! They love you as much as we do, and we're here!" Hiroshi said with a large smile. "So don't worry little sis, they'll come around, specially if you give them grandchildren soon."

Chie nearly choked on her food, "Gra-Grandchildren?!" Aoi laughed at Chie's reaction. "But of course silly! We can't let the only kids running around be this woman's" Hiroshi said as he pointed to Aya. "Whatever Hiroshi," Aya said and she then directed herself at Chie, "But first, worry about getting married, and then you can give my children some little cousins to play with," she said with a smile.

"Yea, well, let's get married first okay?" Chie said as Aoi nodded with a smile.

Dinner ended and Aya and Hiroshi left.

"So, how you like my brother and sister? They're something else aren't they?" Chie asked as they settled in for the night. "Yes, they're definitely something else," Aoi said with a chuckle, "but I like them."

"I'm glad you like them, they like you too," Chie said with a smile as she cuddled with Aoi, " but I like you more…"

"Oh yea?" Aoi asked teasingly and leaned to whisper in her ear seductively, "How much more?"

Chie smirked, "This much," she replied as she started kissing Aoi passionately. "This much…" she whispered into the night.

-----------------------

"Congratulations Chie-san!" Chie yelped as she was surprised by Arika who hugged her from behind. "Thank you Arika-chan." she said with a smile.

"Aoi-san is so super happy!" Arika exclaimed as she released Chie, "I was wondering what was taking you so long Chie-san."

Chie laughed, "Well, when you're old enough to marry, you'll see what made me take so long Arika-chan."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean Chie-san?" Arika asked confused and then smiled, "Well, just so you know, as soon as I'm old enough to marry, I will ask Mashiro-chan to marry me without any hesitation!'

"Is that so Arika?" Mashiro asked as she came from behind Arika with Aoi in tow. "Mashiro!" Arika yelped as she was surprised by Mashiro. "Ha! Somebody got caught," Chie said with a laugh as she walked over to Aoi and kissed her softly, "Hey sexy," she said to Aoi who smiled, "Hello Chie, are you causing trouble again?" Chie laughed, "Actually, no, Haruka-chan sent me to get Arika-chan and take her to Garderobe to help us with training."

"Mashiro-sama," Chie said directing herself to Mashiro, "I will be needing assistance from your precious Otome for a couple of hours at Garderobe if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind Chie-san, " Mashiro said politely and turned to Arika and got closer to her. "We'll talk tonight A-ri-ka-chan," she said as her name rolled out of her tongue. "Ok-Okay Mashiro…" Arika blushed at Mashiro's seductive tone.

"Well, I will return her later Mashiro-sama," Chie said as she took the arm of a red-faced Arika pulling her away. "See you later Aoi," she said with a wave. "Bye!" Aoi said at the retreating figure of the girls.

"So, Aoi, where are you having the wedding?" Mashiro said as they walked back into the palace. "Well, we haven't really talked about that…" Aoi answered.

"Well, Arika and I were talking about it and we thought that maybe you would like to have it here in the palace." Aoi smiled brightly at the suggestion. "Here in the palace?" she asked excited.

"Yes, and if you want…only if you want…I could do the ceremony…since I'm queen and everything." Mashiro proposed. "Mashiro-sama!" Aoi said as she turned to hug the girl. "Of course I would like that! I would like nothing more than for you to conduct the ceremony for the most important day of my life!"

Mashiro returned the embrace and smiled, "Well, you've been here for me when I have needed you, even in a higher level than just a worker. I know you and Chie-san have gone through a lot and you deserve to have the best day ever."

"Thank you so much Mashiro-sama!" Mashiro smiled, "No, Aoi, Thank you."

**A/N:**

**Sorry for not updating until now guys! But my mother is putting restrictions on the time I use the laptop, so I don't have so much time to write anymore, but I try, I really do, hopefully next week I'll have more time :D **

**Thank you for reading and please review. Since last chapter was the smallest chapter I have written for the story, this is the biggest :) Thank you also for the alerts and favs. I hope you keep reading and liking this story. I dedicate this to all my readers! You!**

_Next Chapter: The Wedding! Many surprises happen that make this wedding impossible to forget._


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. I do own the original characters that I have created :)  
**

**Failing**

**10. **

"Hurry your pregnant ass, woman!" Hiroshi called from the door. "Damn it Hiro! I'm coming!" Aya called from inside. "Well hurry up. Your husband is already waiting in the car and I don't want to be late."

"I'm coming…" Aya groaned as she picked up her purse. As she walked out she saw Hiroshi's eyes widen. She turned as was surprised to see her mother. "Do you have space for one more?" Sakuria asked with a smile. "M…Mother, you want to come with us?" Hiroshi asked stunned. "What about father?" Aya asked, knowing that her father did not approve and had not given her permission to go. He had even tried to stop Hiroshi and Aya from going, of course he failed.

"No! She does not want to go." Takashi said as he stepped out from his office. "Sakuria, I do believe I prohibited you from going to that…that thing." He said venomously. "That thing, as you call it, is our daughter's wedding, and I will not miss it just because you are too blind to see that you have lost your daughter, and if you keep being stubborn, you will never be able to get her back." Sakuria said, which surprised her children, since they had never seen her stand up to him.

Hearing his wife's words made Takashi's blood boil. "How dare you support her in such perverted acts?!" He asked in rage, "That is not a wedding! A wedding must be between a man and a woman! Not two women! You will NOT go Sakuria! I won't allow it!" Sakuria frowned at her husband, "I'm sorry Takashi, but we have done enough damage and I will not stand around and lose my daughter. If she is marrying that girl, it must be because she really loves her, and I want to be there in this important day in her life. Think about what you're going to do Takashi, because if not, you can end up losing not only your daughter, but all of your family." Sakuria turned and left with her stunned children. "Let's go to Chie-chan's wedding," she said with a smile as the car left the house. She turned and she saw Takashi kneeling on the floor. _'Is that…a tear?" _she asked herself, _'No, it must be the light…Takashi would not cry…would he?'_

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"Damn it Chie! Hurry up or you'll be late!" Nao said knocking hard on the bathroom door, "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Chie said from inside.

'_I'm getting married to the woman of my dreams, but why do I still feel an empty space on my heart?' _Chie asked her reflection in the mirror. She leaned in closer and touched the reflection, _"Why…why must you feel like this? If they don't care about you, then don't care about them either…'_"She whispered to her reflection.

"Open the damn door Chie! Don't tell me you're backing out or something." Nao said while trying to open the door. "Oh my God! She's backing out?" Arika asked as she walked into the room and heard Nao, "I don't know, she won't come out," Nao replied while trying to open the door.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Mashiro is going to kill her if she backs out, not to mention Aoi," Arika said panicking. "Ara, Ara, what is going on here?" Shizuru asked as she walked in also. "What is this I hear about Chie-chan backing out?" she asked.

"Nobody is backing out Shizuru-oneesama, this girls are just panicking for nothing," Chie said as she stepped out from the bathroom. "Well, about time Chie, I was about to-" Nao stopped midsentence when she saw Chie. "Oh my, you look stunning Chie-chan," Shizuru complimented while Arika just looked wide-eyed with her mouth open. "Thank you Shizuru-oneesama," Chie said with a blush. "You-you-you look…good," Nao stuttered with a blush as she took in Chie's dress. It was a rare sight to see Chie with a dress, but this was even better. Her dress was a black evening gown with purple back and front details. It was picked to mirror Chie's Delta Squad Otome Robe. Chie had begged Aoi to let her use a suit, but Aoi had begged her to use a dress, so of course, Aoi won the begging contest. "Ara, Nao-chan, Chie-chan is getting married today remember?" Shizuru asked teasingly. "What?! Of course I remember!" Nao said defensively as she got herself together. "I wonder if Aoi is ready…" Chie asked the girls in the room.

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"Wow Aoi, you look amazing," Mashiro said as Aoi swirled in her wedding gown. She had convinced Chie to wear an evening gown, which was a great feat, and she decided to wear a wedding gown. Her gown was strapless and it complimented the purple on Chie's dress, except that her gown, instead of black like Chie's, it was white. "That dress looks so good on you!" Shiho complimented also. "Thank you" Aoi said with a smile.

"Time goes so fast, pretty soon you're going to have little chibi-chie's and chibi-aoi's running around," Mashiro teased. "Just wait, you'll have a bunch of kids running around screaming: "Mama Aoi! Mama Chie!" Shiho laughed along with Mashiro, "Oh Mashiro-sama, then pretty soon you can give my kids some playmates with Arika-chan no?" Aoi remarked with a smirk. "Oi, who says I'm gonna marry Arika?" Mashiro asked with a blush. This caused even more laughs from Aoi and Shiho. "Mashiro-sama, please, we _ALL_ know that there isn't much stopping Aika-chan from asking you to marry her aside from being a little too young," Aoi explained and Shiho jumped in, "but just wait, in a few years you can have your own Chibi's running around." Mashiro looked at Shiho and then smirked, "Well, although I didn't attend Garderobe, from what I hear, you and Nao can have your own Chibis soon too right?" Shiho blushed tomato red, "WHAT?! No way am I ever going to marry that spider Juliet!" Shiho stated not noticing the person who had just come in.

"Huh? Is that right?" Nao said sounding a little disappointed, but before anybody said anything else, "Not like I was gonna ask you anyway," Nao quickly quipped. "Well, I just came to see if bride-to-be number one is ready," Mashiro seemed confused, "bride-to-be number one?" she asked, "Yes, Chie is bride-to-be number two, it's easier to keep track of them that way." Nao explained which just earned her confused glances. "Well…atleast I'm number one right?" Aoi said with a smile. "Right…" Mashiro said, "well, let's get this party started!" They all looked surprised at Mashiro's un-queen like outburst. "What?!" Mashiro asked at the girls looking weirdly at her. "Nothing, nothing Mashiro-sama" Aoi said with a smile,

"Mashiro-sama is right, let's get this party started!"

"Of course you would like to get it started, bet you can't wait for the honeymoon eh'?" Nao teased as they left the room.

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"So…can we leave now?" Arika asked impatiently. "Not yet Arika-chan, we have to wait until Nao comes back and tells us if Aoi-san is ready," Shizuru explained and Arika just nodded her head in understanding.

"I wonder what's taking her so long." Chie said as they waited for Nao.

"Hmmm…" Nao said looking at Chie while she opened the door. "About time Nao…what's wrong?" Chie asked when she saw Nao's expression. "You, you have visitors," Nao said as she opened the door completely.

Chie was stunned. "Mo…Mother?" Chie stuttered when she saw her mother coming towards her. Sakuria hugged her daughter. "I'm sorry Chie…I almost lost you, please forgive me." Sakuria said as tears fell down her face. Chie was left speechless. She could not believe her mother had come to her wedding. She did not know what to say, so she just hugged her mother tighly. Actions spoke more than words after all.

"Ahem…"Nao said as she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry to break up this family moment, but bride-to-be number one is waiting."

Chie smiled, "Mother, thank you for coming. You don't know how much this means to me." Chie turned and saw her brother smiling. "Surprise!" he said with a grin. She looked around, but as she expected, she didn't see her father. Sakuria noticed Chie looking around, "Chie, your father….he didn't come," Chie looked at her mother sadly, "Oh…" Chie had thought that since her mother had accepted her, then her otou-sama did also, but she was wrong. "Come on Chie, don't let that bring you down. This is your day, make it a happy day," Hiroshi said as he stepped over to hug his sister. "You're right Hiro, this is my day, my wedding, and I will make it the best day ever," Chie said regaining her composture. She looked around the room to all the expectant faces, "Well, let's go, it's time for me to get married," she said with a smile.

-----------------------

Chie stood with Mashiro waiting for Aoi. The ceremony was taking pace inside the palace while the reception would be out in the garden. Chie stood nervously looking around at the guest sitting in the room. She saw all of her friends and colleagues and she noticed they all shared one thing in common: they were all smiling. _'They're happy, for us…' _Chie realized. She knew that they were happy for her and Aoi. _'Unlike Otou-sama…' _She pushed that thought away as she decided that although her father didn't accept her, she wouldn't let that bring her down. _'I'm getting married today, and nothing is going to change that. I will spend the rest of my life with the woman of my dreams, and I will not let anything change that…'_ Chie's thoughts were interrupted when soft music started playing that announced the arrival of Aoi.

Chie looked on to Aoi as she walked towards her in her father's arm. Chie smiled brightly as she saw her coming closer. When she walked up to her, her father said with a smile before releasing Aoi, "Chie-chan, I give you my most precious treasure. Please take care of her and love her with all your heart okay?" Chie smiled and nodded while taking Aoi's hand, "With all my heart," she said and with that Aoi's father nodded and took his seat. "You look beautiful," Aoi said and Chie leaned closer to her, "So do you, I'm fighting real hard to control myself so I don't take you right here and now," Aoi blushed at this and Mashiro cleared her throat, "Well, let's begin before somebody loses control," Mashiro said with a smirk as she had heard what Chie said. "Let's begin then."

-----------------------

The ceremony continued like most traditional weddings with Mashiro giving a speech about unconditional love, all the while peeking glances at Arika. When it came time for them to exchange vows, Chie was nervous that she would forget what she had gotten ready from the night before. She and Aoi had decided to write their own vows, and while Aoi worked on hers a little every day, Chie decided to leave it all till the last minute, as she did many of the things she did, but she got it done.

Aoi looked deep into Chie's eyes as she started with her vows. "Chie, from the moment I met you, I knew that you were different from the rest. You captivated me with both your external and internal beauty. Your teasing and flirting made me want to be with you more and more. I fell in love with your laugh, your humor, your romanticism, but most of all, I fell in love with the girl who makes my life worth while. I always thought that I wasn't made for love until I met you, and although we have gone through a lot, you are still with me, and I promise to always be with you, because I love you."

Chie's eyes were glazed as she heard Aoi's words. She was so lost in them until Mashiro nudge her in the shoulder and she realized it was her turn. She smiled and kept her eyes locked with Aoi's.

"Aoi, I…" Chie faltered when her brain froze. She had completely forgotten what she had prepared and she started panicking. Aoi saw this and gave a light squeeze to Chie's hands giving her reassurance, "speak from your heart, just like I did," Aoi said in a small whisper. Chie smiled thankfully at Aoi, "Aoi, you have shown me love like I never knew it before. You stood by my side and always helped me up when I was down. You are always there when I need you and no matter what happens, I know you will always be there. Although I have failed to protect you before, I promise with my life that I will take care of you and protect you always. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter what obstacles we have to face, I know that if we're together, we will always get through them. I love you Aoi Senoh, I love you with all of my heart."

Tears streamed down both of the girl's faces. Even Mashiro's eyes were glazed, just like many other guests' were, at the beautiful vows they had just heard. Mashiro quickly cleared her eyes and continued with the ceremony.

"Well…I don't think this is necessary, but its part of the package, so, Chie Hallard, do you take Aoi Senoh to be your lawfully wedded wife to love her always and forever through everything life throws at you?" Mashiro asked in her improvised way. "Yes, I do," Chie said holding Aoi closer, "Okay, Do you Aoi Senoh, take Chie Hallard to be your lawfully wedded wife to love her always and forever through everything life throws at you?" Aoi smiled, "Of course I do,"

"Well then," Mashiro said, "With the power invested in me as queen of Windbloom, I now pronounce you married, so you may finally kiss!" Chie did not hesitate a second as she kissed Aoi passionately as all the guest stood and cheered for the newly married couple. Chie let go of Aoi when oxygen ran low, she caressed Aoi's cheek and said, "Well, you're finally mine," Aoi smiled, "and you're mine."

"Forever," Chie added as she went in for another kiss.

Everybody was too enthralled with the couple to even notice a guest who entered late and sat in the last row, who watched intently as the vows were exchanged and even spilled a tear when the ceremony concluded.

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"Congratulations!" Natsuki said as she and Shizuru hugged the newly married couple. "Thank you" Aoi and Chie said in unison. "You have no idea what you have just gotten yourself into Hallard," Natsuki teased in a not-so-low voice. "Ara Ara, did I hear that right?" Shizuru said and then turned to the couple, "Don't listen to my Natsuki, I am sure you will love married life." she than took Natsuki closer, "Natsuki loves it too, specially when she gets to come home every night to her wife, right nat-su-ki?" Natsuki blushed tomato red, "Shi-Shizuru! That is way too much information!" Chie and Aoi laughed, "Principal, seems like you do have an idea of what I've gotten myself into eh'?" Chie said laughing. "And from what it seems, I made the right decision." Shizuru laughed and excused herself and a blushing principal from the couple.

Chie and Aoi saw the couple retreat to their table in the garden. "They're a cute couple aren't they?" Aoi said, "Yea, and so are we," Chie said as she leaned forward to kiss Aoi. "Ahem…" Chie turned as somebody cleared their throat. She turned and saw her brother, her sister and her husband, and her mother. Chie smiled but felt Aoi tense beside her. _'Of course she would react like this, the first time she met my mother, it wasn't much of a good time' _Chie thought as she hugged Aoi closer. Sakuria noticed Aoi's fear and quickly tried to make the girl feel better about her presence. "Aoi, welcome to the family," she said warmly. Aoi's eyes widened and she then smiled. Chie noticed that Aoi relaxed, which made her relax as well. "Thank you Hallard-sama," Sakuria stepped forward and embraced both girls in a hug. "I'm sorry girls, I'm sorry for being so blind before. Now I see that you two really truly love each other and deserve to be together," she said with tears. "I don't want to lose you Chie, I'm sorry," Chie smiled and blinked back tears, "You won't lose me mother. Thank you for being here." Sakuria released the girls and stepped back. "Aoi-san, please call me Sakuria," Aoi smiled and nodded, "Okay Sakuria-san," Chie smiled also as she felt joy overcome her. Her mother had accepted her and was trying to accept her wife also, _'My wife, that sounds really nice.'_

"Now you're a Hallard, Aoi!" Hiroshi said as he congratulated the couple, "Welcome to the family Aoi-chan." Aya said, "Now I have my own sister-in-law," she said with a smile. Jiro, who stood next to his wife also congratulated the couple. "Well, hurry up Chie-chan, my son will need a playmate soon," he said with a wink. "Just what makes you think it's gonna be a boy? I want a niece!" Hiroshi said and everyone chuckled as he and Jiro argued over the sex of the baby, as if they had any say in it.

"Well, I must say I agree with Jiro-kun, I want as many grandchildren as possible," Sakuria quipped joyfully. Aoi smiled and rubbed Chie's belly, "You heard Chie? Better get working pretty soon huh'?" she added with a wink to her wife.

Chie's family retreated back to their table after a while and Chie and Aoi kept receiving congratulations from all the guests. Chie decided to take Aoi to the dance floor and started dancing with her the first waltz. Later other couples joined in the dancing. Shizuru and Natsuki danced closely as Shizuru whispered things into the principal's ears which made her blush throughout the dance. Haruka and Yukino, Midori and Youko, Mai and Mikoto, Nao and Shiho, and of course, Mashiro and Arika were just some of the many couples dancing under the moonlight.

"You look beautiful, dear wife of mine," Chie said with a grin. "So do you, my wife," Aoi said seductively, "I really like that title, don't you?" she asked, "Of course, I specially love the way it rolls off your tongue so…sexily," Chie quipped eliciting a small blush from her wife.

The couple kept dancing until Chie felt somebody tap her softly from behind. Chie turned around and was stunned. An overflow of emotion overcame her. She didn't know if she was mad or happy, if she should run or stay, she stood with Aoi who also tensed up.

"Otou-sama…' Chie said softly at the man who stood before her.

"Chie-chan…Please forgive me…" Takashi plead with glazed eyes.

**A/N:**

**Thank you all so much for reading. I worked really hard on this chapter, and I hope you liked it. I personally enjoyed writing this chapter very very mucho. I hope I was able to portray as much love as I could. I will work on the next chapter as much as I can so I can update soon. Please Review :D Love you all :)**

_*****_**By the way, the wedding took place at night, that's why they're dancing under the moon, I think weddings at night are like, extra romantic don't ya think? Oh and if you want to see pictures of the dresses from where I got the ideas for Chie's and Aoi's dresses, then message me and I will gladly send the links :D ***

_**~~~I want to dedicate this chapter specially for ice princess1927. Thank you Ruru, for motivating me so much to keep going. Thank you :)~~~  
**_

_Next Chapter: Takashi is sorry, but he has done a lot of harm in the lives of Chie and Aoi, will she forgive him or has he lost his daughter forever?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome or the characters here. Sunrise Does. I do own my original characters :)  
**

**Failing**

**11.**

"Otou-sama…' Chie said softly at the man who stood before her.

"Chie-chan…Please forgive me…" Takashi plead with glazed eyes.

Chie felt tears threatening to spill. She tried to hold them back. She was angry, yet at the same time relieved. She had thought that if her father came to the wedding to apologize, she would be ready, but now seeing him there, a mixture of emotions over took her. The memories of the confrontations came back like a wave crashing onto shore. She remembered clearly the time he dared hurt Aoi in the palace.

Takashi felt fear travel through his spine when he saw his daughter's eyes filled with hatred. He had never seen his daughter like this, but he knew that no matter which way he saw it, it was all his fault. Takashi had a hard time coming to understand his daughter, but what really made him come to his senses was when his wife Sakuria told him he could lose not only his daughter, but all of his family. Takashi did not play favorites, but when it came down to it, he always chose Chie over everyone since the day she was born. She had been 'daddy's little girl' ever since. Takashi had realized that he loved Chie most of all, and that no matter who she loved, she was still his little girl, and he did not want to lose her. He knew he had been stupid, but all he wanted was a second chance.

Aoi worried when she felt Chie tense beside her. She was scared, but after all, she wanted nothing more than Chie to be happy, and she thought that Takashi apologizing would make her happy, but watching Chie's reaction seemed to prove her wrong. Aoi was not the type of person to hold grudges against people, and although she had been hurt by the way he had treated her and Chie, she didn't hate him. She held Chie's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze to try to help her.

Chie felt Aoi's hand on hers and it seemed to calm her down. She didn't know what to do, so many things had happened.

"Otou-sama…I…" Chie started, not sure of what she was going to say.

"Chie-chan, please listen to me. I know I hurt both of you greatly, but please, I don't want to lose you,…my little girl." Takashi said as he took a step forward to Chie, who quickly took a step back pulling Aoi with her. Takashi felt hurt at his daughter's reaction. _'I deserve that and more after what I did…'_ he thought.

Sakuria saw the scene unfold and decided against intervening. She knew that this was something that Takashi had to resolve with Chie and Aoi. "Mother, are you going to do anything?" Hiroshi asked as he saw his mother looking at his father and sister. "No, your father got himself into this, and although I love him, he has to learn from his mistakes." Hiroshi was surprised and shrugged. "Okay."

The otomes sat at a table close by and watched with interest at the scene. "Mai, are they fighting?" Mikoto asked innocently. She had been eating and had not seen them until now, that her food was gone. Mai smiled and grabbed her hand, "I think they're just trying to solve their problems Mikoto," Mikoto smiled at her girlfriend and said, "Okay, can I get some more food?" Mai laughed and stood up with the girl, "Sure, let's go." As the couple retreated Nao spoke up, "So, do you guys think Chie is going to slap her father?" Natsuki glared at Nao, "Of course not Nao, don't be stupid. Chie knows better than that." Shizuru nodded in agreement. "Nao, why is it that you must always say the stupidest things?" Shiho asked the girl beside her. "Because I know you like it," Nao said with a smirk before leaning in to kiss Shiho. "Damn it!" Haruka said, quite loudly as she stood from her chair beside Yukino and leaned across the table to Shizuru. "You win Viola…again," Shizuru chuckled as Haruka gave her some bills. Natsuki and the girls around the table stared confusedly as Shizuru took the money gracefully. "Thank you Haruka-chan, it's always a pleasure doing business with you" She said a smile across her face.

"What? Don't tell me you guy's made a bet!?" Nao asked while Shiho had a large blush spreading across her face. "Of course, I never back down from a challenge with Viola. She said you guys had a '_thing_' going on," Haruka said with air quotes around 'thing', "But I didn't believe her, I told her not all Otomes are gay, but I guess she's right." Shizuru said with a smile, "My radar is pretty good if I may say so, right Natsuki?" Shizuru turned to her wife and planted a kiss on the principal's lips. "Principal," Mashiro said as she sat on an empty chair with Arika at her side, "Do you think perhaps we should intervene? Just to make sure it's all okay?" Natsuki quickly turned to the queen with a blush. She shook her head in disagreement. "Nope. Chie can deal with it in her own." Shizuru served Natsuki and herself more wine. "I agree Queen, Chie knows her father enough to know what to do. If it comes down to violence, which I highly doubt, then we can step in." Natsuki smiled at her wife's wise words. Everyone in the table nodded in agreement.

"Chie…" Aoi said softly to her wife. Although it had been mere minutes, Chie felt like an eternity had gone by. _'Do I really hate him? Do I really want him out of my life? Can I forgive him?' _Chie's thoughts drifted away as she remembered how much she actually loved her father. She remembered the days of her childhood when she would come running inside the house with a scrapped knee from playing with her brother and sister and her otou-sama would smile down at her and take care of her wounds lovingly. _'Is this the same man that has shown me love?'_ Chie remembered the day she was accepted into Garderobe. She ran into the arms of her father. "They accepted me! I'm in! I'm in!" screamed in joy a teenage Chie in her father's arms. "Great job Chie-chan, I knew you could do it, didn't I tell you?" He asked as he hugged his daughter. "Thank you Otou-sama," Chie said onto her father's shoulder. "I love you Chie-chan, you will always be my little girl," Chie replied, "I love you too otou-sama."

Chie broke from her thoughts and released Aoi's hand much to her surprise. She walked forward to embrace her father in a hug. The tears she had been holding back came back rushing. Takashi was startled at Chie's show of affection, since it wasn't exactly what he was waiting for, since he knew he didn't deserve it. "Chie…" he said as he hugged his daughter.

"Otou-sama…Thank you…Thank you…" Chie said between tears. She had tried to hate her father for all the pain he caused them, but she couldn't. After all, he was her beloved Otou-sama. Takashi felt great joy as he heard his daughter. Sakuria watched as a tear felt from her eye. _'Good job Chie, I knew you would do the right thing.' _

Aoi looked as Chie hugged her father. She was relieved to see the tension was pretty much gone. She had been worried for Chie but now she saw that everything would be fine. Chie pulled back from her father and turned to grab Aoi by the hand. "Otou-sama, I present you my wife, Aoi Senoh Hallard," Takashi smiled and pulled the girl into a hug. "I'm sorry Aoi-san, I'm so sorry for everything I have made you and Chie go through for my stubbornness and ignorance. Please forgive me." Aoi smiled and she hugged him back, "Of course Mr. Hallard, I want nothing more than Chie's happiness, and if she's happy, then so am I." Takashi released Aoi and said to his daughter, "You picked a good one Chie-chan." Chie smiled and hugged Aoi, "I sure did, she is the best thing that has happened to me."

Takashi took Chie's hand and said looking at Aoi, "Do you think I can borrow your wife for just a second?" Aoi smiled and nodded, "Of course,"

Takashi turned to his daughter, "Chie-chan, do you think I can have this dance?" he asked.

Chie's smile grew, "Of course otou-sama."

_**A/N: Well, here it is, the last chapter. I really hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for reading and for all the reviews and story favorites and everything. I look forward to writing another story that will be 'kind-of-a-sequel' since it will start where this one leaves off, but it will mainly focus around Arika and Mashiro. In that story, which I plan to start soon, we will be able to see what happenes to this lovely couple. I encourage all of you to write your own stories and show Chie and Aoi some love :D**_

_**Again thank you for everything. I love you all and hope to see you all soon again with another story :)**_

_**~Yanely**_


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